Talks Will Continue Towards Final Deal In March

Members of the Air Line Pilots Association officially ratified
their interim contract with bankrupt Delta Air Lines Wednesday,
easing tensions between the two entities (at least temporarily) as
both parties work towards a permanent deal by March.

Nearly Twice As Many As 2004

Nationwide, the number of aviation accidents continues to
decline -- but not in New Jersey, where officials reported 44
accidents in 2005. That figure is about twice the number of
accidents for the state in 2004.

All Safe In Monday Alaska Airlines Incident

Advertisement

Puts Bid Out On Replacements

Continental Airlines announced Wednesday it has given notice it
will withdraw 69 of 274 regional jet aircraft from its capacity
purchase agreement with ExpressJet Holdings, Inc. and ExpressJet
Airlines, Inc. ExpressJet is currently the exclusive operator of
regional jet services for the airline -- but likely won't be for
much longer.

Companies that own and operate aircraft are generally entitled
to deductions for ordinary and necessary business expenses, among
other things, in connection with business use of the aircraft. A
lesser known type of deduction pertains to deductions for expenses
in operating the company aircraft for the benefit of employees for
nonbusiness flights.

Ends Dispute Over Russian Costs To Keep Station Supplied

There are reports out of Russia that Roskosmos -- the Russian
Federal Space Agency -- has signed a commercial contract with NASA
on financing the transportation of US astronauts and cargo to the
International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz and Progress space
capsules.

A Gulfstream, departing from Santa Barbara CA's airport, Monday,
was forced to return for maintenance after a midair collision with
some form of flying wild-life. Normally this does not make much
news, but since the bizjet was carrying Oprah Winfrey and her
boyfriend, it's gotten escalated a bit in media reports.

Pilot Jonathon D'Attilio, a helicopter pilot with InterIsland
Helicopters, is in critical condition at Wilcox Memorial Hospital
following an accident which forced his 530 down into the De Mello
reservoir while battling a brush fire in Kapaia Valley.

A Frontier Airlines Airbus A318, departing from Orange County
Airport in Southern California enroute to Denver Colorado, is the
latest focus of a cable-news/media frenzy. The A318 informed ATC,
shortly after departure, that they were getting cockpit indications
of an unsafe/open cargo door and decided to make a precautionary
landing in order to check the matter out.

Aviation Security Not Up To Snuff?

A House Committee on Homeland Security investigative report
prepared for Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) and Committee
Democrats finds that the Department of Homeland Security has left
33 separate promises to strengthen aspects of homeland security
unresolved ahead of the New Year.

“A couple of times, we found those
limits.”

Source: Maj. Hank Vanderborght, speaking about
the aggressive testing undertaken to find exactly where the
limits were for the CH-53D and how the aircraft can most
effectively be deployed within those limits...